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I was at an extended family gathering for the Eid al-Adha holiday today. At these gatherings, the older generation in this family tends to not speak great English, so they normally speak among themselves in Arabic, while the younger generation speaks English, with some periods where we all speak together and my husband translates.

The center of this gathering was a newborn baby. My husband’s cousin had a child, and he was so cute and we took turns holding him and playing with him.

The oldest uncle is a retired doctor and although he normally speaks in Arabic among his peers, he actually speaks fluent English as well when there is context for it, since he used to live and work abroad. But he rarely speaks at these gatherings, in either Arabic or English. It’s a running joke that he is grumpy and rarely has much to say, and just kind of zones out at these things. Sometimes when people ask him what he is thinking, he makes a dry concise joke or a funny brief criticism of someone with like a stone cold expression. So usually at least once someone asks him, just to see what kind of grumpy thing he will say in response, since you never know what it’ll be but it’s never boring.

When the family was figuring out which coast town we should take a vacation to in a couple weeks, the uncle was quiet and eventually someone asked him what his choice is, and he sarcastically said “El Arish” which is the Egyptian coast town right near Gaza, to be a buzzkill. The joke being that it’s an obviously bad choice for a vacation.

A while later when people were talking about movies, he was again doing his zoned out expression, so my husband and cousin were whispering to me to ask him what he’s thinking about this time. I was hesitant but they were like, “do it, it’ll be great.”

So I asked what he’s thinking about. With his perfect English, he’s like, “You and Mohamed should have a child by the time you visit us next year. You’re getting old.”

Everyone was like, “…oh shit” since they thought he would say a bad movie or tell me I watch too many movies or something. One cousin was like, “uncle, they will when and if they are ready!”

But the uncle continued. “You two think you are busy now, but it only gets worse from here. The older you get the harder it will be, and you’re already getting old. Both of you are too smart and overthinking it, waiting for a perfect moment that will never come. If you two wait too long, you might not be able to do it, or there’s a higher chance the child will have health problems. Just do it now, while you are still in your mid-thirties, don’t let yourself get any older. And if you don’t do it, naught but regret and darkness awaits.”

So everyone was facepalming, since this was not the direction they were expecting. I was like, “thank you for the blunt advice, we will consider it! 😅”

One aunt who doesn’t speak English asked what he said, so one cousin said, “He called her a hag, basically.”

Rlpr 1y ago

IMHO (and experience) you just got a real and true good advice 😉

Replying to

UNCLE ROCKSTAR

gm gm NOSTR, say it back!

Stay fabulous, just like me. Here's my last seaside shot 😢. Flying to Warsaw today for the nostr:npub155m2k8ml8sqn8w4dhh689vdv0t2twa8dgvkpnzfggxf4wfughjsq2cdcvg documentary premiere.

mwa 😘

Rlpr 1y ago

No eres de mi tipo tía... ¡éxitos!

Rlpr 1y ago

I remain attentive and in full embrace of the sovereign right of the Jewish nation to have its own beliefs, its own land, and thus its weapons and soldiers to defend them 🇮🇱

Rlpr 1y ago

Sigo atento y en pleno abrazo del derecho soberano de la nación judía a tener sus propias creencias, su propia tierra, y así sus armas y soldados para defenderlas 🇮🇱

Replying to

Lyn Alden

People are all up in arms over this Tucker-Putin interview.

I’m all for free journalism but I am also busy this week. For people who have seen it, is it worth spending two hours to watch it or does Tucker get cucked by Putin the whole time?

Rlpr 1y ago

Extraordinary interview, not more than 10 min TC speaking, and he got all the essential and smart questions

Rlpr 1y ago

Este domingo 4 de febrero son las elecciones presidenciales en El Salvador, fuerza, coraje y templanza para el primer estadista de la historia (Nayib Bukele) en poner Bitcoin al mismo nivel del USD 👊👊👊🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻

Rlpr 2y ago

https://www.prageru.com/video/big-business-and-big-brother

Replying to

Lyn Alden

Losing someone young, or losing an older person while you are young, is always hard.

When my father passed away from cancer while I was in my early twenties, it wasn't surprising at all. This fact had been coming for two years, slowly. But when it came, it hurt just as bad. And till this day it still hurts.

I was at work and got a call; it was a hospital. They said my father had been suddenly transferred to hospice, and it wasn't looking good. He probably had a week at most. He was in another state. The doctor transferred my father to me on the phone and my father was weakly like, "hey...." and I said hello, and I said I'm coming now. He said, "No don't... uhh.... don't worry... you are far and have work... I'm fine...." I asked then why was he transferred to hospice if things were fine. He was like, "uh well... well you know.... uh.... it's fine...." And I was like, "holy shit I'm coming right now."

So I went to my boss and looked at him. I had previously told him that there might be a moment where I would have to just immediately leave without notice, no matter how important the meetings and such, because of my father. So in this moment I literally just looked at him in the middle of a busy day and was like, "I gotta go" and he was like "of course". So I drove there, two hours away and went straight there. My father weakly said on the phone not to go, but he never sounded like that, so I went immediately.

I got there, and my father was in a hospital in the death ward, and the guy who greeted me was a pastor rather than a nurse, which was not a great sign. I asked what was going on and he told me straight up that this was not good, that my father was likely dying within a week. So he brings me to my father. My father is barely awake. His memories and statements are all over the place, but I just hold his hand and tell him that it's fine and I love him. I'm just there. He kept fading out and I was like, "it's okay, just relax". He could see me and talk in a rough sentence or two and thanked me for coming, but started to fade away.

And then after like 30 minutes, he went fully unconscious. He was still roughly gripping and shaking the bed headboard and so forth but wasn't conscious (and I was like, "Are you all giving him the right pain medicines, this doesn't look good", and even the pastor was like, "yes I have seen many and this is not comfortable" and I was like an angry 23-year-old so I went out in the center area like, "what do all of you even fucking do here?! He is shaking the bedframe and looks in pain, and even the pastor agrees. Holy shit." So I went and got medical attention to deal with this, but felt slow and ineffective at this. They gave him more morphine and it calmed him down, but while it relaxed him, he ultimately didn't wake up again.

I spent the next couple hours there, and then left and called various family members for my second round when he was unmoving. I said if they want to see him, come now, in the next day or two.

But a little while later after I left, I got a call and was told he had died. Only I (and the nurses) saw him while he was still briefly conscious.

During that call itself, I was stoic. I was like, "Yes, I understand. Okay." and then hung up. And then I sat there for like five minutes in silence... and then cried. I got over it quickly and we did the funeral in the following days. My father had been struggling with cancer for years, so this wasn't fully surprising.

But what lingered was the memory. It has been 13 years now, and yet whenever I am in my depths I still think of my father. The memory never gets weaker. I think of his love, or I think of how attentive he was, or how accepting he was, or what he would say about my current problems.

People we love, live on through us. We remember them so vividly, and we are inspired by them.

If he was a lame father, he wouldn't have so many direct memories 13 years later. But because he was a good and close father, he does.

All of those memories are gifts. All of them are ways of keeping aspects of that person alive in our world. It's how we remember them in the decades that follow. Their victories, their losses, and everything in between. Virtues they quietly did that you find out later. Virtues you realize only in hindsight how big they were.

Rlpr 2y ago

Thanks Lyn, you are the very best bitcoiner-engineer :)

Rlpr 2y ago

Imperdible

https://mises.org/library/cultural-impact-dollar

Rlpr 2y ago

https://x.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1713915175189807597?s=20

Para todos mis amigos economistas 😄

Rlpr 2y ago

The (powerful and solid) anti-Bitcoin logic

I finally understood. Whenever I tell someone close to me for the first time about Bitcoin (the internet's native digital currency), their first question is “And who supports Bitcoin?”

The origin of the question is easy to imagine, it is something like: if a currency does not have support from 'a who' then it does not exist, it has to be a scam, it has to be the same as pieces of paper from the game Monopoly, in any case 'little lies'.

And that 'who' of course is the Bank of the Republic, the 'Issuer', which: 1) prints and puts the cash into circulation in the economy, and/or 2) by clicking on an electronic ledger enables the State and the Fractional commercial banks so that they can circulate credit in the economy, which is not cash but which we all accept as if it were.

Thus the State becomes indebted and can spend (invest and/or consume) immediately (even when the amount collected from taxes in the period is scarce) and the fractional commercial banks finance the investments and consumption of individuals and companies.

So far so good, in theory: when as a result of the above, the growth in the production of wealth (accumulation of all types of capital + deflationary production, thanks to technology, of consumer goods and services) is in line with the growth of the production of the circulating currency.

Stated more precisely: when the above results in enabling decisions (on the part of the State and fractional commercial banks) of both investment and consumption that create wealth: not arbitrary enabling decisions, not guided by ideologies, not that favor and disfavor to such another; that is, neutral enabling decisions, that is, neutral in everything, except in the economic calculation.

And of course, who if not the citizens democratically elected to the Senate, the House of Representatives, the other bodies, to do the task well? Who if not the professionals - with more merits - of law, economics and finance, elected or not, officials of the bureaucracy and of the fractional commercial banks? Who if not the so-called 'cacaos' of politics and fractional commercial banking?

Task? What homework? That of supporting the country's currency (fiat) of course. Which means that it does not lose its value due to mismanagement or mismanagement in enabling investment and consumption decisions.

Who but the State and the fractional commercial banks to reach the most patriotic agreements for the nation? Who but the State and the fractional commercial banks to debate and investigate and seek above all things the common good of this generation and the following ones? Who but the State and the fractional commercial banks to promote freedom of commerce, expression, association, and private property from their 'economic planning'?

Crystal clear: whoever says that civilization needs Bitcoin (cash digital currency native to the Internet) has not understood anything (but nothing) about the benefits, the truth and even the beauty of the State and fractional commercial banking; I finally understood.

Rlpr 2y ago

La (poderosa y sólida) lógica anti-Bitcoin

Por fin entendí. Siempre que le cuento a alguien cercano por vez primera sobre Bitcoin (moneda digital cash nativa internet) su primera pregunta es “¿Y quién respalda a Bitcoin?”

El orígen de la pregunta es fácil de imaginar, es algo así como: sí una moneda no tiene respaldo de ‘un quien’ entonces no existe, tiene que ser una estafa, tiene que ser lo mismo que papelitos del juego Monopolio, en todo caso ‘de mentiritas’.

Y ese ‘quien’ por supuesto es el Banco de la República, el ‘Emisor’, que: 1) imprime y pone a circular en la economía el cash, y/o 2) haciendo click en un ledger electrónico habilita al Estado y a los Bancos comerciales fraccionales para que éstos pongan a circular en la economía el crédito, que no es cash pero que igual todos aceptamos como si lo fuera.

Así el Estado se endeuda y puede gastar (invertir y/o consumir) de inmediato (aun cuando lo recaudado por impuestos en el periodo sea escaso) y los Bancos comerciales fraccionales financiar las inversiones y consumo de individuos y empresas.

So far so good, en teoría: cuando resultado de lo anterior el crecimiento de la producción de riqueza (acumulación de todo tipo de capital + producción deflacionaria, gracias a la técnica, de los bienes y servicios de consumo) se compadece con el crecimiento de la producción del circulante.

Dicho con mayor precisión: cuando lo anterior resulta en decisiones habilitantes (de parte del Estado y los Bancos comerciales fraccionales) tanto de inversión como de consumo que crean riqueza: no decisiones habilitantes arbitrarias, no guiadas por ideologías, no que favorezcan a tal y desfavorezcan a tal otro; o sea decisiones habilitantes neutrales, o sea neutrales en todo, salvo en el cálculo económico.

Y claro ¿quién si no los ciudadanos elegidos democráticamente al senado, la cámara de representantes, las otras instancias, para hacer bien la tarea? ¿quién si no los profesionales - con más méritos - de las leyes, la economía y las finanzas, elegidos o no, funcionarios de la burocracia y de los Bancos comerciales fraccionales? ¿quién si no los llamados ‘cacaos’ de la política y de la Banca comercial fraccional?

¿Tarea? ¿Qué tarea? La de respaldar la moneda (fiat) del país por supuesto. Lo que significa que ésta no pierda su valor por mal manejo o manejo errado en las decisiones habilitantes de inversión y consumo.

¿Quién si no el Estado y la Banca comercial fraccional para alcanzar los acuerdos más patrióticos para la nación? ¿Quién si no el Estado y la Banca comercial fraccional para debatir e investigar y buscar por sobre todas las cosas el bien común de esta generación y las siguientes? ¿Quién si no el Estado y la Banca comercial fraccional para promover desde su ‘planeación económica’ la libertad de comercio, de expresión, de asociación, y la propiedad privada?

Meridianamente claro: el que diga que la civilización necesita a Bitcoin (moneda digital cash nativa internet) es que no ha entendido nada (pero nada) de las bondades, la verdad y hasta lo bello del Estado y la Banca comercial fraccional; por fin entendí.

Rlpr 2y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj8S034PEGo Min 05:31:00

Rlpr 2y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFgBIWg9vdU

Rlpr 2y ago

https://veriten.com/stream/cobt-se-pielke-wright/

Rlpr 2y ago

What is criminal is: 1) the difficulty in starting new businesses due to the state CAPTURE of capital, 2) the DAILY loss of the value of fiat money due to the ticket printing machine, 3) the permanent LIE that is the origin of poverty in the 'laziness' of some, the 'greed' of others, and hides the breast on which everyone suckles: all those who decide and dictate what is criminal

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/us-government-frames-bitcoin-privacy-as-criminal

Rlpr 2y ago

Lo criminal es: 1) la dificultad para emprender nuevos negocios por la CAPTURA estatal del capital, 2) la pérdida DIARIA del valor del dinero fiat por cuenta de la maquinita de imprimir billetes, 3) la MENTIRA permanente que pone el origen de la pobreza en la 'pereza' de los unos, la 'avaricia' de los otros, y oculta la teta en la que maman todos: todos los que deciden y dictan lo que es criminal

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/us-government-frames-bitcoin-privacy-as-criminal

Rlpr 2y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO9rcX4Nf5Y

¡Extraordinario!

Rlpr 2y ago

Bitcoin fue diseñado para que la civilización occidental abandone este 'acuerdo monetario'.

Bitcoin reivindica todos los principios económicos de la escuela austriaca, la única que explica con suficiencia (y saca las conclusiones correctas) del comportamiento económico del ser humano en las sociedades de libre comercio.

Bitcoin le evita (y le quita por inanición) al estado moderno y a la gran corporación moderna su carácter mafioso.

https://www.profstonge.com/p/when-is-the-crash